Good communication etiquette for social media

Social media has become an inseparable part of internet marketing. Most companies have started viewing Facebook, Twitter and posting blogs as invaluable marketing tools, and are constantly making use of them to promote their products or services and to build relationships with their customers and potential customers. A lot of people, however, have taken a relaxed attitude towards the proper use of language when it comes to spreading the word on these platforms and tend to ignore the rules of grammar and proper etiquette as far as internet communication is concerned. This has led a lot of companies to unnecessarily loose business, not only because bad copy can be irritating, but also because it leaves customers and potential customers with the impression that you are either completely unprofessional, or have so little respect for them that you do not consider them worth the minimal effort it will take to get your social media communication right.

Here are a few basic internet communication rules that every company will do well to remember:

Don’t capitalize every word. This is a very annoying trend that a lot of people are making use of. Stick to the accepted rules of capitalisation and only break them when there is a very specific word you want to highlight.

Spelling and grammar are still important. For instance, don’t use your when you mean you’re and when you are not sure, rather hire a professional.

Acknowledge the people who post questions and answer them. If someone asks you a question on one of your social media platforms, make sure that you don’t let them wait too long for the answer. This comes across as rudeness on your part. Also thank them by name for making the enquiry.

Just by following these three simple rules you’ll already make a huge difference in the quality of your communication with your customers. For more info on social media etiquette contact WSI.